From the Mountain

I gently pull Koree’s arm off of my shoulder and settle him to the ground next to Echo, who is pale, but the bleeding from her wound has subsided. Blood trickles down her face like painted rivers of red and her blue eyes travel to mine, as if for encouragement.

  “You’re looking better,” I tell her.

  “Yeah, right,” she answers sarcastically. But other than that she is quiet.

  Gunter is sitting by her, his knees pulled up, and the color has returned to his face. Every now and then he dabs at her forehead with a piece of his torn cloak.

  Red on red on blue, I think, remembering the little bit of history I had when I was small...before the Alliance was formed. Before the Purification Law. Before Weapons.

  I remember studying the pictures of our country’s flag – the red, white, and blue that represented a thriving country. But now it has dwindled to a few cities and townships. There is a new flag now…purple and black…with the words “Alliance” formed out of block letters and a giant Lav flying in the background.

  I close my eyes and breathe deeply. I am tired, beyond thirsty again, and my stomach feels like it is spinning in circles. But, I wobble over to Pebble, pick up my belongings that had spilled out of my bag and carefully tie it back up. Then I drag it over to Koree, propping him up against it.

  “Thanks,” he tells me in a slurry, tired voice. Our eyes meet again, and I wonder if he is trying to tell me something. “You look…” he says but then swiftly stops.

  “What?” I ask, defensively. Of all the people I have met today, Koree seems the least likely to make fun of me or call me a Ghost. But I am sure that is what he was about to say.

  “Nice…” he finishes as his lips curl up, ever so slightly. The dimple on his cheek barely appears.

  “Oh,” I quietly answer, confused by what he said. I wonder what “nice” means. Am I a nice person? Do I look nice covered in blood? Is red a nice color on me? Maybe Koree thinks all Light Skins look nice. Maybe he tells Thann he looks nice all of the time. No, I doubt that. “Thanks,” I answer in a monotone. I have never been told I look nice by anyone except Entho, and he is my dad so that doesn’t count.

  My heart is racing as I plop to the ground next to him. I keep hearing Koree telling me that I look nice. I glance over at him, and his glassy green eyes meet mine. I bite my lower lip, not knowing what to say, just as his eyes close.

  “Koree,” I snap. “Koree, open your eyes!”

  He slowly opens his eyes. “What,” he grins.

  “You have to stay awake, okay?”

  The smile disappears from his face. “I was dreaming of a beautiful girl.”

  My heart falls to my stomach. He must be delusional. Of course he is. That is why he told me I looked nice. “You have a concussion. If you fall asleep it could be dangerous.”

  “Okay, healer. I’ll do as you say.”

  “I am not a healer,” I weakly answer as I watch him intently for a few minutes, making sure his eyes stay open. Then I reach for the bottom of my cloak, where it is ripped but blood free and wipe my forehead, dabbing at the sweat that has trickled down my face. Gunter, who is kneeling next to Echo, hands me a water bag, perfect red hand prints on the sides…just like Reese’s face after I slapped him.

  “Here, looks like you could use this,” Gunter tells me.

  “Thanks. You are pretty good at all of this for a Red Cloaker.”

  “I’m learning fast,” he answers, smiling hugely as his eyes form into horizontal slits.

  At the mention of Red Cloakers, I remember Reese. I turn my head in all directions, tensed, searching for him. “Have you seen Reese?” I ask Gunter.

  “Nope.”

  “Good.” I tip the water bag back– the cool water streams down my throat like liquid candy. As I greedily guzzle it, quenching my seemingly endless thirst, I wonder if this day can get any worse.

  “I did what you said….I put my hands on the…hole…and…and…the bleeding is stopping.” His hands are bright red, as if he has been squishing juicy red berries. Gunter leans back on his legs, his dark eyes flashing at me.

  “Excellent…now you need to watch Koree. Make sure he doesn’t fall asleep. I think he has a concussion…..shake him, rub this under his nose if you have to….keep him talking….” I pull some sage out of my pocket and shove it at him.

  “Righto,” Gunter answers, fiddling with the sage, his eyes now cast downward as if the simple plant held all the answers to our problems. “I’m on it,” he adds. But his voice lacks conviction.

  I breathe deeply, selfishly sucking in air like sweet ocean waves and sit with Gunter silently for a few minutes, gathering myself together. Then, as if a fire has erupted underneath me, I jump up and take off running as fast as I can toward Thann.

  It only takes a few minutes to reach him, my feet digging into the earth as the gruesome scene before me unfolds. I halt, smelling the acrid air, breathing remnants of blood and life and death into my lungs. My mind freezes at the view before me… two bodies, unmoving and bloody, with arrows sticking out of their chests…and two distinct pieces of Soot – all drowning in an ocean of blood.

  Thann is still entrenched in the same spot, the only remnant of life, staring blankly at nothing. I reach my arms around him. “Thann,” I yell as loudly as I can. Nothing happens. “Thann, Thann, Thann,” I scream over and over until my voice is hoarse.

  I grasp him, try to turn him around. Nothing…he is solid, like a statue, definitely too big for me to manhandle. I think of the Thann who showed up at Entho’s clinic, the Thann who raced his dragon around with two girls, the Thann with a perpetual smile on his face, and I swallow back tears of frustration. Bitterness burns my already raw throat. That Thann seems to have disappeared.

  Thoughts of what to do with him swirl in my mind…we can leave him here and come back for him later. Or, maybe Gunter and I can rest for a while and then carry him back and put him on a dragon. Or bring a dragon over here. I size up Thann. He is huge. I suppose together Gunter and I can lift him onto a dragon.

  I am jolted out of my thoughts as I feel Thann soften, just a little. I grab his arm, and his body moves. “Thann, follow me, come with me,” I say softly. His eyes are empty and hollow, but he allows me to hold his arm. I let out a deep breath as he takes a step with me. We walk slowly, like an old couple taking a stroll. Thankfully, Thann doesn’t need to lean on me like Koree did, only to be guided.

  Slowly, step over step we traipse toward the others, and when we arrive, I settle him next to Koree and Echo. He sits obediently, still staring into space, his golden eyes blank, like coins or marbles. I look at Gunter, who is still holding the sage in his hands, rubbing his thumbs over it time and again. Pieces of the sage fall to the ground, but he doesn’t seem to notice. He stares straight ahead, speechless and mute…not too different than Thann.

  “I am too tired to go on,” I tell him. Or all of them. Or none of them. Or maybe just myself…as I fall to the ground on my back, staring open eyed at the still blue sky spattered with soft, puffy clouds…clouds like pillows that I can lean against…if only for a moment.

  Chapter 22